I'll Follow You
by AGoldenCharm
Summary: The night is a fiasco of nightmarish proportions. Spoilers for A Night of Neglect


"Break a leg."

He places one hand on her glowing cheek, the warmth spreading to his fingers. She's excited, and he knows she is. She's been talking about Lykke Li and sending him Youtube videos of performances of _I Follow Rivers_ for him to reference all week, and by now, even _he_ has her solo memorized.

"Will you watch me from out in the audience?" Her voice is hopeful as she teeters back and forth on her feet. God, she's adorable.

"I'll do you one better," Mike grins. "I'll watch from backstage. So I can be closer to you."

A smile spreads across her face, and he can detect her excitement bubbling over. She squeezes his hand, her grip surprisingly strong, when Mr. Schuester gives her the okay to get on stage. Mike watches her leave, a strut already forming in her steps, and he knows before the first note of the music is even played that confidence is already bubbling up to the surface for her. He always relishes her confidence- there's something mind-bogglingly sexy about the way she walks when she knows what she's going for.

The music starts, and he catches himself humming the instrumentals for the introduction. He's all ready to clamp his mouth shut when he catches sight of her dragging the microphone stand behind her, the most sultry look in her eyes _ever_, and his jaw slackens again.

Tina's all kinds of beautiful, but right now, all he can focus on is the pure sexual appeal that oozes from the sway of her hips, the toss of her hair. _God_, her hair... It's cascading down past her shoulders and he's possessed by the most insane urge to run his fingers through it. And the way her lips hover _millimeters_ away from the microphone makes him tug at the collar of his shirt just so he can manage to _breathe_ freely. His mouth is getting dry. Like... really, _really _dry.

The first jeering call takes him by surprise. It's Becky, he realizes after poking his head around the curtain, and she's attacking Tina. Like straight-up attacking her. The next couple of ones come from Jacob, and what looks like Azimio and Mr. Ryerson.

Tina's voice had started off strong. Steady. It's not uncommon for her, especially because she's a whole different person out on stage- he _knows_ that. But with every heckling remark from their tiny audience, Tina gets softer and softer and her body moves less and less.

It gets to the point where she's stopped completely. _Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit this is _not_ good._ The band is casting her confused looks, but it's not like they can do anything. So they wait it out while Tina finally manages to move. She hurries off the stage, tears already flying.

"_Baby_."

She throws herself into his arms when she manages to get off the stage, collapsing into a heaving, quaking mess. And god, he feels for her. Though Tina's got a killer stage presence, she's also not the most confident person in the world, and he knows how important it is for her to get up on that stage and _own_ it. As she shudders in his arms, he gently lifts her a little- hoists her up so that she can walk with his arm steadying her around her torso.

The rest of glee club is not amused. Why should they be, when Tina's hours and hours of preparation had been shot by a couple of irritating hecklers? It's awkwardly quiet in the makeup room, and everyone's glancing nervously at Tina, as if _she's_ the problem, when Mike knows full well that the problem is coming from the idiots out in the audience.

He sits her down gently, lacing his fingers through hers, and she unravels again, sobs escaping her lips.

"That's the worst I've ever felt in my entire life."

And god, that just _rips_ him apart. The way her words come out in between heavy sobs, the way her hair is matted against her face because the tears are running through the strands, the way her shoulders are rising and falling like she can't catch a single breath. He's overcome with the need to kiss her everywhere, to murmur reassurances into her ear and hold her like she deserves to be held. To give her the attention that she had deserved tonight. Instead, he runs his thumb along the back of her hand, the way he always does when he's trying to relay his affection in public.

"I didn't think it was possible for people to hate us even more. We're calling this off," Artie says, his voice quavering a little.

Mike really appreciates Artie sometimes. And even though he has trouble grappling with the constant reminder that Artie and Tina used to be in a relationship, Artie's a nice guy and Mike knows he's trying to help. He shoots Artie a grateful look, and Artie blinks back behind his glasses in acknowledgment.

"Guys," Mr. Schuester sighs. "I hate to say it, but I think we have to buck up."

_Wait, what?_

"Tina, I'm sorry you had to go through that, but... it's actually a really good lesson for us."

Mike is _steaming_ at this point. Okay, he likes Mr. Schuester and everything, but it's not like _he_ was just booed off the stage. And _he's_ not the one crying right now. He glances at Tina, who's still silently crying. Seriously, if it didn't risk the chance of getting suspended, he would have pinned Mr. Schue to the _wall_ for suggesting that this is something that Tina can just _get over_ like it's no big deal. He's never been the protective type but _damn_.

"I mean, that's a part of show business, guys. Sometimes, people can be really mean. Think about what's going to happen if we have an unfriendly crowd at Nationals in New York. And I'm sure there's gonna be some Vocal Adrenaline hecklers there, too. We need to find some strength and barrel through this. I think I may know a way to shut those hecklers up for a number or two..."

As Mr. Schuester walks away, Mike glares at the spot where he had just stood. "_I'd like to shut you up for a number or two_," he grumbles under his breath.

Only Tina hears him. "_Mike_!" She whispers disapprovingly, jabbing his side with her elbow, her eyes both stunned and amused. He offers her a grim smile but nothing else.

When the club breaks to hand out the taffy to the audience, Mike takes Tina's hand, pulling her in between his legs. "C'mere."

She looks confused, but he gives her a reassuring smile, tugging for her to follow him into the hallway.

"What?" She's still sniffling, and a tear is slowly traveling down her cheek.

"_Hey_," he wipes away the tear with one finger. "You were incredible tonight, okay?"

She shakes her head, her hair draping over her face. "They hated me."

"Who? A dumb jock, Sue Sylvester's minion, and a drug dealer?"

"Mr. Ryerson's a drug dealer?"

"Tina," he shakes his head firmly. "The point is, you are an incredible singer, and you _rocked_ that stage tonight."

She breaks a little once more. "_Mike_... How come I can't deal with this kind of thing? Why do I fall apart like this?"

"Shh," he says softly, wrapping her in his arms and pressing a kiss to her temple. "You had every right to cry, T. They were rude and inconsiderate and most importantly, _wrong_."

She glances up at him, giving him a watery smile. "Kick ass today with your dance number, okay?"

As he smiles back, absently stroking her hair, he can't help but think that he'd much rather kick the asses of every single heckler out there tonight. All the way to the fucking moon.

* * *

><p>Okay, Mike knows he loves dancing. That part is obvious. He's known that for quite some time, even if for the majority of that time, he's never managed to perform. But never, <em>ever<em> has he felt this type of rush before. Performing on a stage by himself in front of an audience? The feeling is _unreal_.

But Sam's dragging him back into the makeup room and as the rest of the club applaud for him when he walks in, he's grinning ear-to-ear.

"That was _all_ kinds of awesome."

Even though the sound of everyone's cheering is echoing in the room, his eyes search for Tina, who's jumping up and down, positively _beaming_. He rushes over to her, and she opens her arms and he's in them in a flash, hugging her tight to his chest.

"_I'm so proud of you!_" Her voice is breathy.

But he sees the tears. They're still there. Forming in the inner corners of her eyes and his euphoria fades a little.

Mike pulls Tina aside again when the club breaks off in their own side conversations. Her eyes have been rimmed with red this entire time, and he has a feeling that she hasn't quite pulled herself together yet.

"Tina?" He says softly, taking both of her hands in his.

She doesn't say anything this time. But he does fall back into a chair as she collapses in his lap, and he knows that right now, he just needs to let her release the tears and get it all out of her system. He's tracing little circles on her back when she leans in toward his ear.

She turns a little on his leg, where's she's perched, and sniffs. "You know what the only thing I could think of was when I was up there, getting booed by everyone?"

"What?" The look on her face _kills_ him. The way her almond-shaped eyes are slanted down, her eyebrows raised in sorrow.

"That this is exactly what created my stutter five years ago, you know? After that presentation, I had nightmares for _weeks_ about public speaking, and-"

"- This was like your nightmare come to life?"

"...Yeah."

"_Tina_."

He dots her jawline with kisses, ignoring the fact that the rest of the glee club is in the room. They'll just have to deal with it. Because even though he doesn't know how to make the haters disappear and the tears stop, he does know that he needs to soothe her. Make her _feel_ like the incredible woman she is. And honestly, he's never felt quite this powerless before. Like there's absolutely nothing he can do to make his girl's night better. She's broken in more ways than one and he has less than zero ways to fix it. And that, he realizes, is the worst feeling he could ever have.


End file.
